Earle piarry decker



(No Model.)

1-]. H DECKER.

GATGHERS GLOVE.

No. 450,366. Patented Apr. 14, 1891.

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EARLE HARRY DECKER, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECTAND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO ALFRED J. REACH, OF SAME PLACE.

CATCHERS G LOVE.

SPEGIFICATIbN forming part of Letters Patent No. 450,366, dated April14, 1891.

v Application filed May 10, 1890. Serial No 351,293. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EARLE HARRY DECKER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Philadelphia, countyof Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Catchers Gloves, ofwhich the following is a specification.

In that class of gloves used in playing baseball and like games in whichhard and com- 1o paratively inelastic balls are employed it is necessaryto pad the palm of the hand to protect the same against abrasion by theballs, and for this purpose padded gloves have been employed.

I 5 An objection to the gloves heretofore made has been the rapiddeterioration of the padding, which is generally made of wool or felt,and which becomes compressed, felted, and condensed by the repeated hardblows to which it is subjected, thereby rendering the glove quicklyworthless. In order to obviate this objection and to otherwise improvethe glove, I construct the same as fully set forth hereinafter, and asillustrated in the accom- 2 5 panying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is aperspective view of a base-ball glove embodying my invention. Fig. 2 isa longitudinal section. Fig. 3 is a face view.

The body A of the glove in its general construction does not differ fromthat of the body of an ordinarybase-ball glove,consistingof the palmportion a and the back portion b, sewed together at the edges, andpreferably formed in pockets 0 for the reception of the fingers andthumb.

Instead of applying the padding permanently to the palm portion a, asheretofore, the latter is formed Wit-h a pocket or, extendingpractically and preferably over the greater portion of the palm of theglove, so as to receive a padding B of wool, felt, or other suitablematerial, which may be introduced into said pocket through a suitableopening at the wrist of the glove, and withdrawn from time to time topick it over to compensate for the effects of the blows it has receivedor to discard it to give place to a new padding.

The pocket may be formed by constructing the glove in any suitablemanner; but, as

50 shown, the palm of the glove is double, consisting of two sheets act, connected at the edges, except near the wrist, and capable of beingslightly separated to receive between them the detachable padding B. Tosecure the padding in its place, the opening through which it isintroduced may be temporarily sealed by any suitable closing andfastening deviceas,' for instance, by a cord d, passing I througheyelets e e in the opposite strips a a,

as shown. By thus constructing the glove with a pocketed palm adapted toreceive a detachable padding, I am enabled to renew the latter as oftenas necessary, or treat it so as to restore it to its effective conditionwithout, as heretofore, discarding the more durable portions of theglove.

In order to increase the durability of the body of the glove, protectthe fingers, and impart a stiffness not heretofore possessed at the edgeof the glove, I provide the latter with a re-enforce f of any suitablematerial, but which, as shown, consists of a crescent-like strip ofsole-leather, suitably secured, as by sewing, to the outer or palm sheetof the glove. As shown, the re-enforce f is inserted so as to lieagainst the inner face of the palm-strip a; but it may be applied to theouter face of said strip, or to the strip a in that class of gloveswhich are not provided with pockets.

The back of the glove is cut away at 1 to leave an opening for theinsertion of the hand, and in order to hold the glove upon the hand Iextend a retaining device across the back of the hand. Such device maybe constructed in any of the well-known ways; but I prefer to make thesame as illustrated, and consisting of a cord secured at its oppositeends near one edge to of the opening y, forming a loop each portion ofwhich passes through an eyelet i at the opposite edge w, said loop also0 passing through a ring 29, that can be readily hooked upon a button orhook s adjacent to the edge w. By seizing the ring, drawing on the cord,and placing the ring over the button the glove is secured, and byslipping the 5 ring from the button it is at once released. The cord gmay be fiat, in the form of a tape or band, passing through a suitableperforation '11 and hooking directly onto the hook or button 8. I00

asset forth. v

4. The combination,with a glove, of a comparatively stiff re-enforcin gstrip f at the edge of the palm adjacent to the finger-tips, for thepurpose seti-iorth In. testimony whereof .I have signed my name to thisspecification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

EARLE HARRY DECKER.

Witnesses:

WM. ;.ZEHNDER, WM. J. fianrrsmnningandgsecnringsaid opening,substantially I 5

